Railroad Car for Carrying Motor Vehicles

ABSTRACT

A fully protective railroad freight car for carrying motor vehicles in a selected one of a bi-level or a tri-level configuration, with the lowest level including a depressed longitudinally central portion between body bolsters of the underbody, which may be a low-level flat car. A pair of vehicle-carrying decks are adjustable in height to provide for either one or two vehicle-carrying levels above the lowest level, while also providing at least a prescribed amount of vertical clearance above each vehicle-carrying deck. Ramps may be provided on the lowest level at an end of the car to provide a wheel-supporting surface having a prescribed minimum height. A roof structure is light in weight, and the car has an overall height not exceeding a prescribed limit for operation on most rail lines. The ends of the car are equipped with three-panel folding doors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to railroad freight cars useful forcarrying motor vehicles, and particularly to cars capable of carryingmotor vehicles on either two or three levels.

Railroad freight cars have long been used for transporting newlymanufactured motor vehicles long distances from the point of manufactureor a port of arrival to cities where dealerships are located or torailroad terminals where the motor vehicles are reloaded onto trucks fortransport over highways to the locations of dealerships. In order forsuch railroad freight cars to be most economical it is desirable tocarry a maximum number of motor vehicles on each railroad car, but it isalso desired to be able to carry several different types of motorvehicles on each car and to be able to reconfigure the railroad freightcar to carry such different types of vehicles without undue difficulty.

It is known to adjust load-carrying decks in motor vehicle-carryingrailroad cars to facilitate carrying different types of motor vehicles,but cars capable of such adjustments in the past have not beencompletely satisfactory.

Railroad cars are restricted in size to fit within clearance envelopesestablished by agreements reached among railroads, in order to avoidcollisions between trains on adjacent tracks and to ensure that all carsfit within the clearances available along the rail lines at places suchas bridges and tunnels.

In order to avoid pilferage or vandalism of motor vehicles and toprotect motor vehicles from airborne hazards, many railroad freight carsdesigned to carry motor vehicles are enclosed and include roofs and enddoors. The overall height of such a car, including its roof, is limitedby the applicable clearance envelope, in order for the car to be able tobe used without special routing considerations. At the same time,however, there must be sufficient interior vertical clearance height forsafe carriage of the desired types of motor vehicles, with the railroadfreight car in either its bi-level or its tri-level configuration. Also,motor vehicle-carrying railroad cars must meet certain deck heightrequirements to allow for movement of motor vehicles from car to car ina “circus loading” fashion.

What is needed, then, is an improved railroad freight car which iseasily adjustable to serve to carry a maximum number of motor vehiclesof different sizes and to provide ample protection of such motorvehicles against pilferage and against damage from the elements, andwhich is convertible between a tri-level configuration and a bi-levelconfiguration. Such a car should also conform to the clearance envelopeapplicable to operation on all ordinary rail lines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes some of the aforementioned shortcomingsof prior art railroad cars by providing an improved railroad freight carfor carrying motor vehicles on multiple levels, in a railroad car bodyincluding a pair of vehicle-carrying decks that can be locatedseparately at different respective heights to provide a tri-levelconfiguration or located closely above one another to provide a bi-levelconfiguration in a car that fits within a standard clearance envelope,with prescribed vertical clearance heights above the vehicle-carryingdecks.

A railroad car which is one embodiment of the invention includesprotective side walls of sheet metal construction each including sideposts extending upwardly to a top chord of the car body.

In one embodiment of the present invention a pair of movable motorvehicle-carrying decks are spaced upwardly above the lowestvehicle-carrying deck, where they are supported by the side posts andadjustable in height, between separate spaced-apart positions in atri-level configuration and closely adjacent positions in a bi-levelconfiguration of the car.

In one embodiment of the present invention the moveable upper andintermediate vehicle-carrying decks are cambered, with the uppervehicle-carrying deck having a greater camber, with a lesser radius ofcurvature, than the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck. When the twodecks are nested closely adjacent to each other in a bi-levelconfiguration of the car, such cambers of the movable deckscooperatively provide a minimal combined vertical dimension of the twodecks at the locations where vertical clearance is critical, so as tomaximize between-decks vertical clearance heights for motor vehicleswhen the car is in a bi-level configuration.

In a railroad car which is one embodiment of the present invention araised structure or ramp is provided along each side of the draft gearhousing, on each lateral side of the car, near the opposite ends of thecar, with the raised structure having a vehicle-supporting top surfacelocated at a prescribed height above the top of the rail height, so asto be aligned properly with a bridge extending between the car and anadjacent car or a loading dock.

In one embodiment of the railcar disclosed herein an end portion of amovable intermediate vehicle-carrying deck is hinged, allowing its outerend to be raised to provide clearance in a tri-level configuration ofthe railcar. The hinges can be disconnected and the end portion can bemoved longitudinally atop a mid-length portion of the intermediate deck,to provide ample vertical clearance height between the bottom deck andthe upper vehicle-carrying deck at an end of the railcar in its bi-levelconfiguration.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of theinvention will be more readily understood upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a foreshortened side elevational view of a motorvehicle-carrying railroad car embodying an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side elevational view of a portion of therailroad car shown in FIG. 1, at an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the railroad car shown inFIG. 2, taken in the direction indicated by the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view similar to that of FIG. 4, showing aremovable ramp spaced apart from the position in which it is shown inFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of the body of the railroad car shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, at an enlarged scale, but foreshortened in height,showing the car in a tri-level configuration.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway view similar to FIG. 6, but showing thecar in a bi-level configuration in which a pair of vehicle-carryingdecks have been placed closely adjacent to each other.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view showing a detail of the car body shown inFIG. 7 at an enlarged scale.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view showing a detail of the car body shown inFIG. 6 with a moveable end portion of an intermediate vehicle-carryingdeck shown in a partially raised position.

FIG. 10 is a detail view taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 2, showing themanner in which a lateral side of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deckis attached to one of the side posts in a mid-length part of therailcar.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway side elevational view of a portion of arailroad car that is a different embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an end elevational view, partially foreshortened in height,of the railroad car shown in FIG. 11, showing the configuration at twodifferent points along the length of the car, with the car in atri-level configuration.

FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway view similar to FIG. 12, but showing thecar in a bi-level configuration in which a pair of vehicle-carryingdecks have been placed closely adjacent to each other, showing the carat the same two points along the length of the car as in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway side elevational view of a portion of arailroad car that is a different embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 15 is an end elevational view, partially foreshortened in height,of the railroad car shown in FIG. 14, showing the configuration at twodifferent points along the length of the car, with the car in a bi-levelconfiguration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1-10 of the drawings which form a part of thedisclosure herein, a motor vehicle-carrying, or auto rack railcar 16which embodies the present invention includes an underbody 18 supportingan auto rack portion 20, or superstructure, that includes side walls 22extending upward above the underbody and a roof 24 extending above andbetween the side walls 22.

In the motor vehicle-carrying railcar 16 the underbody 18 may beessentially a conventional low level flat car including a pair of bodybolsters 28 located at opposite ends 26 of the car 16 and supported onrespective wheeled trucks 30. A drop center sill 31 extends between thebody bolsters 28 and a respective end portion 32 of the underbody 18 islongitudinally outboard of the body bolster 28 at each end. At aprescribed height 35 above the top of the rail (TOR) 34 on which therailcar 16 is located there is a coupler 36 at each end of the underbody18, and a draft gear housing 38 is included in the underbody 18, locatedcentrally of the width of the end portion 32, to receive and house thedraft gear associated with the coupler 36. The draft gear housing 38includes a top surface 40 at a height 42 which may be about 3 feet 5 1/8inches above the top of rail 34. The draft gear housing 38 extends overa length 44 of about 7 feet.

The underbody 18 includes a bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 of whichrespective portions 48 extend alongside each lateral side 49 of thedraft gear housing 38 from an end sill 50 toward the respective bodybolster 28 in the respective end portion 32. A conventional bridgemounting connection 52 is provided in the end portion of the bottomvehicle-carrying deck 46 in each lateral side portion, alongside thedraft gear housing 38, to receive a bridge (not shown) that may extendbetween the end sill 50 of the car 16 and an end sill of an adjacentauto rack car or a loading dock.

In the auto rack portion 20 and spaced upwardly above the bottomvehicle-carrying deck 46 is an intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58supported on side posts 60 included in the side walls 22 and extendingupward above side sills 62 extending longitudinally from end to end ofthe underbody 18. The side posts 60 also support a top chord member 63and the roof 24 that extends angularly upward and inward and across thetop of the auto rack, interconnecting the side walls 22 of the auto rackand providing protection against the elements.

An upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 is also supported by the side posts 60and is also moveable between several different heights. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 6 the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 and the uppervehicle-carrying deck 64 are mounted in a tri-level configuration of theauto carrying railcar 16, in which motor vehicles may be supported oneach of the bottom deck 46, intermediate deck 58, and upper deck 64,with sufficient vertical clearance for the height of a passenger vehicleof a selected class on each of the vehicle-carrying decks, as will beexplained in greater detail presently.

A standard height of 3 feet 7 ½ inches above TOR has been establishedfor the end of a railcar in a tri-level configuration for carryingautomobiles, to assure that such railcars can be coupled to one anotherto allow for circus loading of automobiles moving across a bridgeextending between adjacent railcar ends. The height of the end portion32 of a railcar is prescribed to be within 3 inches of the standardheight. In the railcar 16, the height 65 of the bottom vehicle-carryingdeck 46 in the end portion of the car, adjacent to the end sill 50, is 3feet 1 ⅞ inch. Accordingly a vehicle wheel-supporting ramp 70 isprovided in the end portion 32 of the underbody 18, extending from theend sill 50 longitudinally into the car a distance 71 of, for example,about 4 feet. An upper wheel-supporting surface 72 of the ramp 70 has aheight of 2 ⅝ inches above the top surface of the portions 48 of thebottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 at the end of the car body, so that theramp 70 has a ramp top height 73 of 3 feet 4 ½ inches above TQR 34, andthus is located within the 3 inch range permitted as a variation fromthe standard 3 feet 7 ½ inch height. A pair of such ramps 70 are locatedin the end portion 32 of the car 16, with one of the ramps 70 on thedeck portion 48 at each lateral side of the draft gear housing 38. Thisprovides a minimum vertical clearance height 74 of 54 inches above theupper wheel-supporting surface 72 of the ramp 70 and beneath the lowestsurface of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58, as may be seen inFIG. 6. Unless otherwise described, the vertical clearance height abovea vehicle-carrying deck, or the height of a deck, as mentioned herein ismeasured at a lateral distance of 30 inches from a vertical longitudinalcenter plane 76 of the railcar 16, as required by the AmericanAssociation of Railroads (AAR) standards related to Plate J clearances.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the ramp 70 may be fastened to the bottomvehicle-carrying deck 46 by conventional removable means, such as bythreaded fasteners 77, quick release fasteners (not shown), etc., sothat the ramps 70 may be removed without undue difficulty in convertingthe automobile carrying railcar 16 from the tri-level configurationshown in FIGS. 2 and 6 to a bi-level configuration, as shown in FIGS. 7and 8. The ramps 70 may be attached to part of the railcar out of theway of motor vehicles to be carried, so as to be readily available forreconfiguration to the tri-level configuration when desired. As shown inFIG. 2, at a location within the automobile carrying railcar 16 in thetri-level configuration, in a middle portion of the length of the car16, there is a vertical clearance height 79 of 63 1/16 inches above thebottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 to the lowest surface of theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58, which is thus greater than thestandard required clearance of 62 ⅜ inches.

When the railcar 16 is in the tri-level configuration as shown in FIGS.2 and 6, a hinged end portion 82 of the intermediate vehicle-carryingdeck 58 may be raised to an inclined position as shown in sideelevational view in FIG. 2, to provide an ample vertical clearanceheight above the ramps 70 in the end portions 32 of the car duringloading of motor vehicles onto the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46. Thisprovides a vertical clearance height 75 of 63 1/16 inches above theupper wheel supporting surface 72 of the ramp 70. Various arrangementsare known for supporting the movable end portions 82 of such avehicle-carrying deck 58 in the raised position, including a spring andchain arrangement 83. Once the desired motor vehicles have been placedonto the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 the end portions 82 of theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 may be lowered to a horizontalorientation, aligned with the longitudinally central part of theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58, as shown in solid line in FIG. 6.Lateral margins of the movable end portion 82 may include longitudinalstructural members 85, and may be supported on brackets 84 mounted onrespective ones of the side posts 60 at a suitable height, as shown inFIG. 9. Upper surfaces of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 thenhave a height 86 of 8 feet, 11/16 inch above the height of the TOR 34,which is equal to the standard height prescribed for such a tri-levelautomobile carrying railcar. Conventional bridge members (not shown) canthen be connected to the ends of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck58 to move motor vehicles onto or off from the railcar 16 onto anadjacent car or loading dock.

A vertical clearance height 88 of 61 ⅞ inches is provided between thetop vehicle wheel supporting surfaces 89 of the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58 and the lowest bottom surfaces of the uppervehicle-carrying deck 64 with the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 in therequired position along the side posts 60 in the tri-levelconfiguration. This places the top wheel-supporting surface 91 of theupper vehicle-carrying deck 64 at a height of 13 feet, 4 ¾ inches aboveTOR 34, within the allowable range relative to the standard height of 13feet, 4 ⅜ inches for the upper deck in a tri-level configuration.

This also leaves a vertical clearance height 90 of 65 ⅝ inch above thetop vehicle wheel supporting surfaces 91 of the upper vehicle-carryingdeck 64 and beneath the bottom surfaces of the roof 24, a clearancewhich is greater than the minimum required standard clearance of 64 ⅞inches beneath the bottom surfaces of a roof for an auto rack car in atri-level configuration.

While auto rack cars have previously been available with the requiredbetween-decks vertical clearances for a tri-level configuration, suchcars not exceeding the maximum overall height 92 of 19 feet 0 inchesabove TOR 34 as required by AAR Plate J have not been convertible to abi-level configuration except by removing either the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58 or the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 from therailcar to attain the bi-level configuration and still provide therequired vertical clearances.

In the present motor vehicle-carrying railcar 16, however, theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 is raised, and the uppervehicle-carrying deck 64 is lowered, to bring those two moveable deckstogether into respective positions along the side posts 60 in which theupper vehicle-carrying deck 64 is closely adjacent and above theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

With the automobile carrying railcar 16 in that bi-level configurationas shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, ramps 94, similar to but lower in height thanthe ramps 70, may be provided in positions similar to the positions ofthe ramps 70 as shown. In the railcar 16 as shown the ramps 70 arelocated partially atop the ramps 94, as shown in FIGS. 2-6. The ramps94, as shown best in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, may be ⅞ inch in height abovethe portions 48 of the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 at the end sill50, so that the top vehicle-carrying surfaces 99 of the ramps 94 are ata height 96 of 3 feet 2 ¾ inches above TOR at the end sill 50, with thecar 16 in the bi-level configuration. This height is thus within ¼ inchof an older, but still applicable standard height above TOR for thebottom deck of a bi-level automobile-carrying railcar, and less than 3inches lower than the more recently established standard height of thebottom deck at the ends of a bi-level automobile-carrying railcar. Thisalso provides a vertical clearance height 98 of 87 inches (7 feet 3inches) between the top vehicle-carrying surfaces 99 of the ramps 94 andthe lowest bottom surface of the hinged portion 82 of the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58.

The vertical clearance height 98 of 87 inches, in the end portions 32 ofthe car 16, above the ramps 94 and beneath the hinged portion 82 of theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 thus satisfies the AAR Plate Jstandard requirement for a minimum of 87 inches clearance between thelower deck and the upper deck of a bi-level auto rack configuration. Ina longitudinally central portion of the car, between the body bolsters28, in the bi-level configuration there is a significantly greatervertical clearance height 98′ of 7 feet 8 ⅝ inches between the topsurface of the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 and the lowest bottomsurface of the horizontal portion of the fixed intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58, as shown in FIG. 7.

The AAR standard minimum clearance above the upper vehicle-carrying deck64 in a bi-level configuration is 93 ¼ inches, and in the automobilecarrying railcar 16 the vertical clearance height 100 in the bi-levelconfiguration is 93 ⅜ inches beneath the lower, inner, surface of theroof 24, thus satisfying the minimum clearance requirement.

The clearances described in the preceding paragraphs are enabled by thestructural dimensions and the cooperative configuration of theintermediate and upper vehicle-carrying decks 58 and 64, which permitsthem both to be kept in the interior of the car in converting the car 16from the tri-level configuration to the bi-level configuration. Each ofthe movable vehicle-carrying decks 58 and 64 is constructed primarily ofcorrugated sheet metal with corrugations extending transversely and witheach deck including an upwardly arched camber. The corrugated portionsof the movable vehicle-carrying decks 58 and 64 may have respective topto bottom thicknesses 101 of about 1.75 inches. Each of the decks 58 and64 includes a pair of parallel longitudinally-extending reinforcingmembers 102 which may be of rectangular tubular configuration and whichmay be spaced apart laterally from one another by a distance of about 4feet, centered along the longitudinal vertical center plane 76 of thecar 16.

A curb member 104, spaced laterally outward from each of the reinforcingmembers 102, is located on the upper face of each of the intermediateand upper vehicle-carrying decks 58 and 64 when the car is in thetri-level configuration, at a distance of about 18 inches from thelateral sides of the decks. The curbs 104 serve to prevent a motorvehicle from wandering too close to one of the side walls 22 or posts60, and also add desired rigidity and stability to the deck structures.The curb members 104 may be attached to the end portions 82 of theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 by bolts, for example, and can beremoved and stored on the underside of the intermediate vehicle-carryingdeck 58 when the car 16 is in the bi-level configuration.

As one way to bring the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 closeenough to the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 to provide the necessaryvertical clearances between decks and above the upper vehicle-carryingdeck 64 in the bi-level configuration, the cambers of the two decks areslightly different, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. That is, the radius ofcurvature 106 of the camber of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58is greater than the radius of curvature 108 of the uppervehicle-carrying deck 64. For example, the radius 106 may be 275 inches,while the radius 108 may be 264 inches, in one embodiment.

In placing the car 16 into the bi-level configuration, then, the curbs104 are removed from the top of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck58 and the two decks are moved toward each other and attached to theside posts 60 in respective positions where the lateral margins of thetwo decks are at least nearly in contact with each other. A mounting andsupport bracket 110 on the bottom side of the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58 supports the intermediate vehicle-carrying deckand attaches it to the side posts 60 in the mid-length portion of thecar 16, while an upwardly extending mounting and support bracket 112attaches the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 to the side posts 60.Because of the different camber curvatures of the intermediate and uppervehicle-carrying decks 58 and 64, there is room for the longitudinallyextending reinforcing members 102 on the top of the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58, between the top of the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 58 and the bottom of the upper vehicle-carryingdeck 64, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. This combination of the two camberedvehicle-carrying decks with different radii of curvature results in acombined height 114 of the paired intermediate and uppervehicle-carrying decks in the bi-level configuration that is less thanwould be the case if both cambered decks had the same radius ofcurvature. The smaller combined height 114 of the two decks results inadditional vertical spacing above and below the paired decks at thelocations relative to the width of the railcar 16 where verticalclearance heights are specified.

At each end of the car a pair of tri-fold doors 116, 118 may be providedto protectively enclose automobiles within the car. Such doors can befolded and moved laterally apart from each other to positions at thecorners of the car body, leaving ample room between the doors 116, 118for vehicles to be loaded onto or removed from the car 16.

In a slightly different motor vehicle-carrying railcar 130 shown inFIGS. 11, 12, and 13, a somewhat different underbody 131 may include abottom vehicle-carrying deck 132 with the same profile as that in theautomobile carrying railcar 16. In the railcar 130 the bottomvehicle-carrying deck 132, instead of being supported atop a droppedcenter sill, is supported by a pair of deep side sills 134, which may bebox beams of ample strength extending along the length of the carbetween opposite end sills 136.

In each of the opposite end portions 32′ of the car 130 there is a draftgear housing 138 similar to that in the previously described car 16, andramps 70 and 94 may be provided atop the bottom vehicle-carrying deck132. The top surfaces of the ramps 70 and 94 provide the requiredheights above the TOR 34 for attachment of a bridge to extend to anadjacent railcar or a loading dock, depending on whether the railcar 130is in a tri-level or a bi-level configuration as described above withrespect to the railcar 16.

The superstructure, including side walls 22, side posts 60 and moveableintermediate and upper decks 58, 64 may be similar to those of thepreviously described car 16, although the roof 24 and a structuresupporting the roof 24 may be somewhat different, and the side posts 60are connected with the side sills 134.

While many motor vehicle-carrying railcars are made in the form of anauto rack superstructure added to an underbody 18 in the form of a moreor less standard low level flat car with a length of 90 feet overstrikers, the car 130 shown herein may be built expressly to be a motorvehicle-carrying car as shown. The bottom vehicle-carrying deck 132 maybe constructed of a corrugated sheet steel construction utilizingrelatively high-strength steel with transversely extending corrugationsmaking the deck self-supporting, with the deck having a thickness ofabout 1.75 inches. The profile of the bottom deck 132 may be the same asthat of the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46, so that its top surface hasa height 133 of 3 feet, 1 ⅞ inch above the TOR 34 at the end sill 50.Accordingly there may be ramps 94 for bringing the upper surface of theend of the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 132 into agreement with theprescribed height above TOR 34 for the car 130 in the bi-levelconfiguration. There may also be ramps 70 to provide the specifiedheight to mate with bridge structures between the end portions of thecar and an adjacent car or loading dock with the car 130 in thetri-level configuration.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a motor vehicle-carrying railcar 150 which issimilar in many respects to the railcar 16 shown in FIGS. 1-10. The samereference numerals used in FIGS. 1-10 are used in FIGS. 14 and 15 toindicate similar portions of the railcar 150. As shown in FIGS. 14 and15, the railcar 150 is in a bi-level configuration.

As shown the railcar 150 includes a drop center sill 31 in its underbody18. It should be understood, however, that the underbody of the railcar150 could also be of the same construction as in the railcar 130 shownin FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, including a pair of deep side sills 134 insteadof the drop center sill 31 shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

In the tri-level configuration the railcar 150 has its movableintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158 and its upper vehicle-carryingdeck 64 in respective locations substantially similar to the locationsof the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 58 and upper vehicle-carryingdeck 64 shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 14 broken lines 152 and 154 show,respectively, the locations where an intermediate vehicle-carrying deck158 and the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 would be when the railcar 150is in a tri-level configuration similar to that shown in FIGS. 2 and 11.Broken line 156 represents an imaginary surface parallel with the uppersurface of the bottom deck 46 and the upper or wheel-supporting surface72 of the ramp 70, at a distance 157 above the bottom vehicle-carryingdeck 46. The distance 157 is 89 ¼ inches, and thus is greater than theminimum vertical clearance distance required by the American Associateof Railroads, above the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 for a motorvehicle-carrying railcar in a bi-level configuration.

An end portion 162 of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158 isinterconnected with a mid-length portion 164 by a hinge (not shown), ina manner similar to that of the interconnection between the end portion82 and the mid length portion of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck58 as shown in FIG. 2, so that the end portion 162 may be raised,pivoting about the hinge, to a position similar to that of the endportion 82 as shown in FIG. 2, during loading of motor vehicles into therailcar 150 when it is in its tri-level configuration.

When it is desired to convert the railcar 150 from its tri-levelconfiguration to the bi-level configuration shown in FIGS. 14 and 15,the hinge connecting the end portion 162 with the mid-length portion 164of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158 is disconnected, and,while the mid-length portion 164 remains temporarily in its positionindicated by the broken line 152 in FIG. 14 for the tri-levelconfiguration of the railcar 150, the end portion 162 is raised andmoved longitudinally toward the middle of the length of the car, alongthe top of the mid-length portion 164 of the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck 158. For example, the end portion 162 may be moveda distance of about 10 feet longitudinally along the mid-length portion164. Movement of the end portion 162 above and along the mid-lengthportion 164 may be accomplished using various methods and various meansof easing the movement, none of which are of particular relevance to thepresent disclosure, but the end portion 162 must be moved far enoughinward, toward the center of the length of the railcar 150, to leaveample vertical clearance distance between the bottom vehicle-carryingdeck 46 and the bottom of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158once the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck is raised to the positionshown in FIGS. 14 and 15. The upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 is lowered,and the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158 is raised, to therespective positions shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, with part of the endportion 162 remaining between the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64 and themid-length portion 164.

As may be seen in the right hand portion of FIG. 15, the camber of theintermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158, including its end portion 162,may be the same as the camber of the upper vehicle-carrying deck 64, andbecause the top surface of the bottom vehicle-carrying deck 46 is lowerat a point 166 along the length of the railcar 150 between the bodybolsters 28, the vertical clearance 168, between the bottomvehicle-carrying deck 46 and the underside of the mid-length portion 164of the intermediate vehicle-carrying deck 158, is greater than theminimum specified for a motor vehicle-carrying railcar in a bi-levelconfiguration. At the same time, the clearance 170 above the uppervehicle-carrying deck 64 remains ample and equivalent to the clearance100 in the railcar 16.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoingspecification are used therein as terms of description and not oflimitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms andexpressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown anddescribed or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of theinvention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

I/we claim:
 1. An auto rack railcar, comprising: (a) an underbodyincluding a draft gear housing at a first end of the railcar, the draftgear housing extending longitudinally with respect to the underbody overa first distance from the first end of the car and having a pair ofopposite lateral sides; (b) a bottom vehicle-carrying deck having a carend portion which extends alongside at least a portion of said draftgear housing along each of said lateral sides thereof; (c) asuperstructure carried on said underbody and extending upwardlytherefrom, the superstructure including a plurality of upstanding sideposts and an intermediate vehicle-carrying deck and an uppervehicle-carrying deck each attached to and supported by the side postsin a selected one of at least two available configurations including abi-level configuration and a tri-level configuration; (d) a roofincluded in the superstructure and supported by the side posts anddefining an overall car height above TOR; and wherein (e) when the autorack railcar is in the tri-level configuration there are a pair oframps, each respective one of said ramps being located on said bottomvehicle-carrying deck, alongside a respective one of said lateral sidesof said draft gear housing, each of said ramps having a respective upperwheel-supporting surface located at a ramp top height that is lower thansaid first said height, and wherein there is at least a predeterminedfirst vertical clearance height between said upper wheel-supportingsurface and a bottom surface of said intermediate vehicle-carrying deck;and wherein (f) when said auto rack railcar is in said bi-levelconfiguration said bottom surface of said intermediate vehicle-carryingdeck is located at a greater height than when said auto rack railcar isin said tri-level configuration, and there is at least a predeterminedsecond vertical clearance height above said bottom vehicle-carryingdeck.
 2. The auto rack railcar of claim 1 wherein said underbody has apair of body bolsters and a pair of deep side sills extending betweensaid pair of body bolsters and wherein a portion of said bottomvehicle-carrying deck between said body bolsters is located between saidside sills and at a lower height than a height of said car end portionof said bottom vehicle-carrying deck.
 3. The auto rack railcar of claim1 wherein said intermediate vehicle-carrying deck and said uppervehicle-carrying deck are located closely adjacent each other when saidauto rack railcar is in said bi-level configuration and wherein each ofsaid intermediate vehicle-carrying deck and said upper vehicle-carryingdeck has a respective camber, and wherein said camber of saidintermediate vehicle-carrying deck has a radius of curvature in atransverse plane with respect to .said auto rack car that is greaterthan a radius of curvature of the camber of said upper vehicle-carryingdeck.
 4. The auto rack railcar of claim 1 wherein said upper wheelsupporting surface of one of said pair of ramps is located at a heightwithin a range of 37 ½ inches to 43 ½ inches above the TOR at a locationadjacent said end of said railcar when said railcar is in said tri-levelconfiguration.
 5. The auto rack railcar of claim 1 wherein said firstvertical clearance height between said upper wheel-supporting surface ofa respective one of said ramps and said intermediate vehicle-carryingdeck is at least 54 inches, and wherein second vertical clearance heightbetween a vehicle wheel supporting surface of said intermediatevehicle-carrying deck and said upper vehicle-carrying deck is at leastabout 61% inches, and wherein there is at least about 65% inchesvertical clearance above a vehicle wheel supporting surface of saidupper vehicle-carrying deck within said auto rack railcar and beneathsaid roof when said car is in said tri-level configuration.
 6. The autorack railcar of claim 1 wherein said draft gear housing has a topsurface located at a first height above TOR and said car end portion ofsaid bottom vehicle-carrying deck is at a second height that is lowerthan said first height.
 7. An auto rack railcar, comprising: (a) anunderbody including a draft gear housing located centrally of a width ofthe railcar at an end of the railcar, said draft gear housing having apair of opposite lateral sides; (b) a bottom vehicle-carrying deckhaving a car end portion adjacent said end of the car and laterallyalongside said draft gear housing; (c) a roof having an upper surfacedetermining an overall height of the railcar that is no greater than aprescribed height above TOR; (d) an intermediate vehicle-carrying decksupported at an adjustable height above said bottom vehicle-carryingdeck and movable to place said railcar into a selected one of a bi-levelor a tri-level configuration; (e) an upper vehicle-carrying deck, saidupper vehicle-carrying deck being supported at an adjustable heightabove said intermediate vehicle-carrying deck to place said railcar intoa selected one of a bi-level or a tri-level configuration; and wherein(f) minimum prescribed vertical clearance heights are available aboveeach of said vehicle-carrying decks when said railcar is in saidtri-level configuration and above said bottom deck and said uppervehicle-carrying deck when said auto rack car is in said bi-levelconfiguration; and also including (g) a respective vehiclewheel-supporting ramp located on said bottom vehicle-carrying deck alongeach lateral side of the draft gear housing when the auto rack railcaris in the tri-level configuration, an upper surface of thewheel-supporting ramp being within a prescribed range of heights aboveTOR for an end of an auto rack railcar in a tri-level configuration. 8.The auto rack railcar of claim 7 wherein said prescribed overall heightis 19 feet.
 9. The auto rack railcar of claim 7 wherein when saidrailcar is in said bi-level configuration the intermediatevehicle-carrying deck and the upper vehicle-carrying deck are supportedclosely adjacent one another and an upper vehicle wheel-supportingsurface of the upper vehicle-carrying deck is within a prescribed rangeof heights above TOR at a prescribed lateral distance from alongitudinal center plane of the railcar at an end of the railcar. 10.An auto rack railcar convertible between a bi-level configuration and atri-level configuration, comprising: (a) a flat car having a respectivedraft gear housing at each of a pair of opposite ends; (b) a bottomvehicle-carrying deck having a portion located alongside each said draftgear housing on each lateral side thereof, a portion of said bottomvehicle-carrying deck adjacent each end of said railcar having a firstheight and a portion of said bottom vehicle-carrying deck in amid-length portion of said railcar having a second height that is lowerthan said first height; (c) a pair of longitudinally-extending uprightopposite side wall assemblies, each including a plurality of upstandingside posts supported by and extending upward from respective oppositesides of said flat car; (d) a roof assembly supported by said side wallassemblies and extending laterally across said railcar between said sidewall assemblies; (e) an upper vehicle-carrying deck attached to saidside posts in a selected one of a location defined by a bi-levelconfiguration and a location defined by a tri-level configuration ofsaid railcar; and (f) an intermediate vehicle-carrying deck attached tosaid side posts in a selected one of a location defined by said bi-levelconfiguration and a location defined by said tri-level configuration,said intermediate vehicle-carrying deck including a mid-length portionand an end portion interconnected with the mid-length portion andmovable to a raised, inclined position providing a predeterminedincreased clearance beneath said end portion at one of said ends of saidrailcar when said railcar is in said tri-level configuration, said endportion being disconnected from said mid-length portion and movedlongitudinally of said mid-length portion, and a part of said endportion being located between said mid-length portion and said uppervehicle-carrying deck when said railcar is in said bi-levelconfiguration.
 11. The auto rack railcar of claim 10 including a ramplocated alongside said draft gear housing and having an upper vehiclewheel-supporting surface located at a prescribed height above TOR, saidauto rack railcar having a prescribed clearance above said upper vehiclewheel-supporting surface and below said intermediate vehicle-carryingdeck when said railcar is in said tri-level configuration, and said autorack railcar having an overall height no greater than a prescribedmaximum for AAR Plate J service.